Thursday, February 25, 2016

My dear friend, Pat Chapman, and I just wrote Mixed Media in Clay.
One of the projects done in the course of writing the book was a beaded
curtain out of cast objects and beads. While many of the objects were
3D resin casts, you could easily recreate a beaded curtain with Creative
Paperclay® and push molds.

Monday, February 22, 2016

One of my favorite things about using Creative Paperclay is that it is a very forgiving medium. Sanding, carving, and making changes are super easy, so it takes the fear out of making a mistake.

I was commissioned to make a 30" trophy* for a local pho cooking contest. This is a shot of the pho bowl at the top of the trophy. I carved the facial features, but when I double checked the graphic I was provided, I realized I had carved the face too low on the bowl. But not to worry!

The surface had already completely dried, so I misted it lightly with water, and used some fresh Paperclay to fill in the carved areas. Creative Paperclay shrinks slightly as it dries, so I made sure to over fill the areas to ensure complete coverage.

I allowed the clay to dry completely overnight, and sanded back the bowl to a smooth surface. You can't even tell there was a carved face there before.

I repositioned my drawing and carved a new face. This technique works well for all types of projects. On my animal sculptures, I've used it to lengthen bodies, shorten necks, or reposition legs.

The takeaway here: don't be afraid to go for it when you have an idea. Changes are a breeze with Creative Paperclay.

(*If you want to see the finished trophy, I'll have the photos posted on my blog sometime in March.)

---About KerrieDreamer. Dabbler. Noodler.I am a mixed media sculptor working primarily in clay. Though clay is my passion, at the core, I'm simply a maker, a builder, a creator. Making things makes me happy.I make videos about making things and post them on my channel Kerrie Lee:Dream Up on YouTube and on my website KerrieLee.com.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Hello everyone - I am so excited to bring you another beginner video by Lynda! Since I scrapbook, I use both Delight and Creative Paperclay for my embellishments using a simple flower mold and either of the products! I love how I can make them up ahead of time, and that I can customize them to whatever project I am working on!

As you can see - it is easy enough to use either product with molds! Find fun molds you can use, and have fun creating your own Creative Paperclay or Delight product embellishments!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Chloe and I have been having lots of fun creating this whimsical owl wall hanging.

We started by rolling out a ball of clay about 3/8" to 1/4" thick. We made the pieces in a variety of ways—some we molded, some we cut following a pattern, some we free hand cut. For the body and the tummy piece, we cut around mixing bowls that were the right size. For the wings, we used a tart mold as a cookie cutter, then cut the clay piece in half lengthwise for the two wings.

The two circles for her eyes were molded. The head, beak, and feet were cut free hand.

Eyes

Beak and feet

We added different textures to the head, wings, and body using embossing folders and clay texture sheets.

Here are all of our owl pieces laid out to dry.

When the pieces were completely dry, we painted them with acrylic paints and glued them together using E6000 adhesive. We added a jewelry bail to the back of the head for hanging and adding her bow.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Another thing to love about Creative Paperclay® modeling material is it's ability to bond to natural materials like wood, leaves, etc. Over the next few months I'll be showing you how to create some projects that combine your favorite nature finds with clay, so my tip for this month is how to prepare those materials.

To prepare rocks/stones - wash them with mild soapy water to remove dirt, rinse well, and allow to dry.

For delicate leaves and flowers - if they are fresh, press them between absorbent pieces of paper and heavy books until they are dry, or, iron them gently with a DRY iron on low heat between two pieces of paper.

To prepare sticks or similar items, brush the dirt off with a stiff brush, spread on a cookie sheet and bake in an oven on low heat to kill any hidden bugs, fungus, etc. (I usually use the lowest setting and bake for a half an hour to an hour for sticks 1/4" to 1/2" in diameter)

If you want to use purchased material such as dried flowers, check for a waxy or oily feel and wash them if necessary - these materials are often preserved with glycerin to keep them supple, but excess glycerin or waxy coating can prevent clay from sticking well.

For materials that have sap or resin, such as the pine cone "scales" in the project below, clip the scales/seed wings from the cone with clippers or tin snips, wash the clippings then spread them out onto parchment paper and bake as above. Repeat if necessary to remove the majority of sap.

As always, use caution when using the oven and make sure to check your materials often to make sure they aren't burning, emitting noxious odors or smoking, and take measures to provide adequate ventilation, etc.

I'd love for you to join me for more projects & art adventures on my personal blog

Monday, February 15, 2016

I cannot, in all honesty, say I am adept enough to give you any tips or tricks dear Creative Paperclay readers as this is a delightful new world to me. However as a beginner I can suggest things that I am learning, and hope there is someone like me, who is learning along side me.

I can suggest that you brush a little baby/talcum powder along the edges of your plastic molds before pushing them into the clay so they don't stick. It doesn't take much and makes a world of difference when lifting the molds from the Creative Paperclay.

If the clay adheres to the mold you might get results like this. The bottom part of the chin and mouth became distorted when I had to pull it from the mold because it was sticking, and the eyes are also stretched, making one larger than the other.

( I might have to use this in some Halloween project, it looks like a very scary clown face to me! )

Cut some extra pieces to help you attach the Creative Paperclay® skirt to the dolls body.

Little by little add the strips of clay to the bottle to secure the 1/4 thick Creative Paperclay® skirt.

Let it dry over night or can be speed up in the convectional oven for 1 hr at 250 degrees

After is dry add another layer of clay to shape the doll waist and cover all the heart with clay. I like to add clay to the hands at this stage and set to the side to dry.

While the clay is drying lets gets the cheese cloth fabric ready to use.

Follow the dye manufacturer instructions and feel free to start dying the

white Cheese Cloth to the desire color.

Make sure you wash off any excess dye of the cloth.

Set the cheese cloth to dry completely before you use it.

Make sure you add more clay to the hands, Heads and waist at this stage cover any imperfection and shape any form you want your final doll to look like.

Add some clay to the heart to make it plump and full.

Add more clay to create the chin and make the hand more fuller.

Lets add some hair to the doll. To make sure is not easy to break lets add some wire armature support to the dolls head.

Create an armature to fit the hair style you will like to make.

Place the armature to the head and secure with glue or just add some Paverpol and set aside to dry.

Once the armature is secure you can add the first layer of clay and set it to dry.

once the first layer of the hair clay is dry you can feel free to add the second layer. In this second layer is where the details are added and you can give the hair the final flow design.

To make some cute easy curls. start by cutting a 1/4 thick rolled clay sheet to the length you want the curl to be and roll it like in the photo above.

Place the curl to the dolls head and add the breast details.

Cover any imperfections with extra Creative Paperclay® and set the figure to dry.

Use the wet Creative Paperclay® stage and curl the dolls hair to the final flow you want the hair to look like. Check the doll for any cracks or imperfections from the drying process and cover it with more Creative Paperclay® then set aside to dry.

Use an air tight container to work your Paverpol. Any dye fabric might leech some color and you don't want that to ruin your entire big Paverpol tub. Work every time from a separate tub.

Pre measure the cheese cloth and cut to size various pieces of the light pink and dark pink.

Layer everything on the table so it is easier to work with.

Add to water to the Pavepol® if you want a more thinner and easier way to soak the cheese cloth.

Soak the fabric inside the Paverpol and removed with you finger any excess to be able to work the fabric on the sculpt a lot easier.

Star playing with the fabric and place the fabric all over the Creative Paperclay sculpt layer by layers.

Little by little. Layer by layer you can add the Paverpol soaked cotton fabric to the sculpt. Gather the fabric and use the Paverpol to adhere to the paperclay sculpt and secure it in place.

At this point alternate the color fabrics to create some depth and make the figure look more interesting. Wrap the neck and hands. More like rolling a mummy.

Let the first layers dry before adding another dress layer.

The second layer you can add some fabric to the dress and decorating trims. To create the wind effect roll some cheese cloth and open it up to create a shall.

Let the fabric dry a little so you can further add more movement and details to the fabric by moving or adjusting it while still a little wet.

Add has many layers of the cheese cloth soaked on the Paverpol to make the dress fuller.

Make sure every layer of the dress is fully soaked in the Paverpol and all the excess removed with the hands or pinched the fabric to the side of the container while pulling it out.

Once all the excess of Paverpol is removed you can open it. Gathered or further sculpt to later be placed on the art doll dress skirt.

If you want to add more details or interesting mix media effect. Use a paint brush and brush the Paverpol directly to the art doll.

Then add some of the Martha Stewart Heart Shape Glitter to the wet Paverpol and set aside to dry.

To the final fabric skirt dress layer you can add some more magic by sprinkling some fine iridescent glitter to the wet Paverpol soaked fabric. Make sure after your sprinkle the glitter use a water bottle mister and spray the glitter to help it attach better to the Paverpol soaked cheese cloth.

Sprinkle has much glitter you want.

Add has much Paverpol soaked fabrics to shape the dress skirt . There is not a calculated science since each doll is unique and is all matter of artistic taste. Some like the dolls fuller others might like them thinner, But once your are satisfy let the doll dry completely over night.

Ok let add some mix media to the doll. You can use buttons charms or any extras to the doll. I choose some easy Dress It Up because the came already pre pack ready to use.

Use the thick Paverpol to glue each button in place and let it dry.

Color the Heart with the Tuscan red acrylic paint.

Make sure you do to coats of the Tuscan red acrylic paint.

Add two layers of the acrylic paint pastel yellow to color the dolls hair.

Color the dolls hands and face with the Desert Beige Acrylic paint. Use two layers.

Set aside for the acrylic paint to dry.

To add more details to the heart cover it with a thick layer of the Paverpol clear.

Let gravity play a little with the Paverpol clear and wait just a little before adding the Red Tinsel glitter to the heart.

Use the clear Paverpol to adhere any other details you want your heart to have.

Use your favorite sealer for the acrylic painted portion of your final

Mix Media Paverpol Creative Paperclay Art Doll.

Now here you can see once the doll is totally dry the items you placed on her are totally secured.